Safety deposit box



July 31, 1923.

, J. VOSS SAFETY DEPOSIT Box Filed J'une' 22 1922 Josqpz Vass- Application filed' .Tune` 22,

To aZ-Z whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH Voss, aV citizen vof the United States of America, residing at authorized opening of the box.

An object of the present invention is to provide a safety deposit box which is constructed to resist crushing by blows of a Sledge or other heavy tool'and also to resist opening by prying or when Ysubjected to drilling, or other various meanscommonly employed for breaking into devices of this character. 1 i

Another object of thetinvention is to provide a safety deposit box with the` usual hinged door or lid', Yand the usual 'duplex'v lock which has a sliding bolt,.adapted to .engage a keeperformed 'by a recess in the inner wall of the-box; and to equip such box structure with a supplemental locking means which `may be controlledby manipulation of" the. first lock, and with cooperating parts built into the box structure for supporting the second locking means for not only holding the door or lid against being pried'open, but also against being collapsed or :forced inwardly under heavy blows or pressure.

A further object ofthe invention is to pro# vide a relatively simple attachment for safety deposit boxes which may readily be appliedto boxes of common construction and-which occupies-ibut lsmall space in the box andidoes not lalte'rexterior configuration and dimensions of thevbox, so that the latter mayj be used inthe ordinary safety deposit vaults of banks. and other institutions and places WhereV money and'other valuablearticles are to bepro'tected. i

With the lforegoing and other objects in view,the invention will Vbe more fully de scribed' hereinafter,-an,d will'be more'particularly pointed out in the claimsappended' hereto.V Y ,f f 'l f, In the drawings, whereinA like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts through;

g Fig-.1, is a horizontal longitudinal sectiontaken througha Vsafety deposit box constructed according to the present invention,

relateslto safety dei.

JOSEPH voss, or Manrrowoc, wisconsin.

SAFETY nnrosir Box;

1922. seriarnofQs'zones.

the lid or cover being shown in apartly open i l position andthe dotted lines showing the paths of travel of the various parts of the supplemental locking attachment of this in# .vention` i ,Fig 2, is a vertical ,section taken through f the same'llooking in rthe direction ofv the arrows and on theline 2 2 ofFig. 1. l

F1g.'3,-is a longitudinal section lthrough the forward-end ofthe box taken substantially'on the line 8-3 of Fig. 2, and.

' Fig-f4, is Aa fragmentary horizontal section taken through the forwardportion of the box showing the cover in closed position.

Referring to the drawing, the present invention is illustrated as applied lto a safety deposit box of substantially rectangular configuration and which has a rear wall 10,4sid'e walls 11 and 12, and top and bottom wallsl?) .and 141:.A These various walls maybe made in any su'ita'ble'or well known mannerk to provide an impenetrable lenclosure open' only atl its front fend. VThe front end ofk thebox is V ismounted upon-'a vertical pivot shaft V16 which is placed inthe side wall 1.2,'and

which terminates withinthe top and bottom walls 13 and 14C to prevent the-driving of the pivotv 16 out of place. Thefree end off the door` 15 has,-in its outer edge, an undercut recess forming aAv stop orl lipl? adapted to iit into a correspondingly.shaped concavity or shoulder lvforin'ed Vin .the front edge of the sidewall l1. To provide a suitable bearin'g surface, the `shoulder-18 `isformed; in

part by `'a verticalbarili) which is provided inthe outeredge of 'the' side wall 11 at the inner face thereof, andwhichis 'arrangedin substantially'the same position andmanner Y as is the'pivot 16 located at the oppositeside of thebox.'V Safety depositl boxes ofl thisftypei are'- usually 'provided with aiduple'x lock 20 yhaving a keyl slot-'21 `for*a'master key, randa .second key slot 22 lfor ani individual key, 5

thelock'being 'of the duplex'type so that operation of both of'these keys is essentialy to the retraction o'f the bolt 23jof`the lock. The side wall 11 of the-box isi-provided with V`a' keeper 24 infill@ forinof a cavity or' recess provided in the inner face of the wall 11 and designed to register` with the bolt 23 when the door 15 is closed. ln locked position the bolt 23 projects into the keeper 24 and behind the bar 19, and the thickness of the metal of the wall 11 beneath the bar 19 so that the bolt is securely held from being,fr

forced outwardly by mutilating the wall 11, or otherwise being released. rlhe lock 20 is usually secured to the inner side of the door or lid 15 by machine screws or the like. ln the present instance machine screws 2e are used, which pass through the lock 20 and which are threaded into the lid 15, the screws being provided near their outer ends with shoulders 25 which bear against the inner side of the lock 20 and bind it to the door 15. rlhe shoulders 25 provide guides 23 upon which is slidably mounted a locking' plate 27 having a slot 28 for each guide 26. The shoulders or guides 26 of the bolts have heads 29 on their outer ends in the form of bolt heads having the usual angularly disposed faces for receiving` a wrench or other suitable tool for turning' the machine screws 24. The locking` plate 27 is adapted to slide aga-inst the inner side of the lock 2O and beneath theI heads 29 of the screws 2d'within the limits of the slots 23. As shown best in Fig. 2 and 3 the plate 27 is of a width equal substantially to the height of the interior of the boX, and the plate 27 is left its full width at the free end of the door to provide a lockinglip 30 of the full width of the plate, the lip 30 beingadapted to engage in a vertical groove orrecess 31 formed across the inner wall ofthe side wall 11. y

The locking plate 27 is provided with one or more recesses 32 in its top and bottom edges adapted to register with and receive therethrough correspondingly shaped stops or abutments 33 which are welded or otherwise permanently attached to the inner faces of the walls 13 and 14 of the box. The stops 33 are so located upon the. top and bottom of the box that they register with the recesses 32 only when the locking plate 27 is retracted., When the locking plate is projected outwardly into locking position the recesses 33 are moved out of register with the stops 33, and consequently the intermediate portions of the plate 27 are brought into position behind the stops 33 and the latter prevent any outward movement of the plate.

rlhe plate 27V is provided, at a suitable point, with a slot 34 which receives a pin 35 mounted onl a movable part of the lock mechanism,V and in theY present instance is mounted'fon and movable with the bolt 23, and; which is adapted to be operated upon the projection and retraction ofthe bolt for shifting the plate 27 into locking and releasing positions.

The locking platev 27, when the door 15 is closed, supported throughout its length upon ledges 36 which may be in the form of steel plates welded or otherwise suitably permanently litted to the inner faces of the top and bottom walls 13 and 14C and with their outer edges flush with the inner wall of the lip-receiving;` recess 31. The plate 27 when closed is supported against these ledges 36, and consequently any pressure or impact upon the door 15 is resisted not only by the lip 17 but also by these relatively large and strong ledges. As the door 15 swings into open and closed positions upon the pivot 16 at one end of the boX, the recesses 32 in the edges of the locking` plate, which are preferably provided with at least one curved wall 37, receive therethrough the stops which are also provided with atleast one correspondingly curved wall 3S-so that the locking plate may be freely and easily swung into closed and open positions with the cover 15, and maintain a relatively tight fit at all times.

l have illustrated and described a pre ferred and satisfactory embodiment of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

lhat 4is claimed is t.

1. ln combination with a safety deposit box having a door anda lock secured to the inner side of the door, a sliding plate mounted 0n the `inner face of the lock, a connection between the plate and a movable portion of the lock mechanism whereby the locking plate may be moved into projected and retracted positions upon the opening and closing of the lock, said plate having recesses in the lateral portions thereof, and stops secured to the inner faces of the bon in position t0 aline with the recesses of the plate when the latter is retracted and adapt* ed to be out of line with the recesses when the plate is projected, whereby said stops are adapted to engage the intermediate por i tions of the'plate to prevent opening of the door.

2. ln combination with a safety deposit boX having a hinged door adapted to close in flushed relation with the outer edge of the box, and a lock secured to the inner side of the cover, a plate slidably mounted against the inner side of the lock and being of a width equal substantially to the height of the interior of the box, means connecting said plate to` a movable portion of the lock mechanism for cooperatively opening,1 and closing the plate and the lock, said plate having, recesses in its longitudinal edges, abutments secured to the inner opposite faces of the box outwardlyof the plane of the sliding plate when the door is closed and arranged in position to aline with the recesses in the plate only when said plate is retracted, a wall of the box having,`

lil@

'groove therein adar'itedtoV receive the outer vedge of the plate when projected, and ledges secured within the lower portion of the box inwardly of said plate for supporting said plate, lock and cover when closed in position under exterior pressure and impact. f

3. In combination with a safety deposit box having a hinged door and a lock on the inner side or the door, a slotted plate fitted against the inner side of the lock, shouldered machine screws fitting in` the slots of the plate and projecting into the lock and door for holding` the parts assembled and for guiding the plate in its movementsof projection and retraction, said plate having spaced apart recesses in its longitudinal edges, stops secured to the inner opposite walls of the looxV in position to register with the recesses when the 4plate is retracted, and ledges secured to theinner opposite walls of the box for supporting said plate 'when the door is closed.'

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

.msnm voss. 

